Binder.



No. 771,973. PATENTED OCT. 11, 1904.

UNITED lSTATES Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENT OEEIcE.

-AUSTIN H. DENNY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES R. HUTTON, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AND RUDOLPH F. HEILES, OF

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 771,973, dated October 11, 1904.

Application filed December 28,1903. Serial No. 186,775. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t irl/ty concern:

Beit known thatI, AUSTIN H. DENNY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Binders, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved binder forb0oks,portfolios, and files of various kinds and classes, a further object being to provide a binder adapted for the temporary binding of loose sheets in such a manner that fresh sheets may be inserted whenever desired and any of the sheets removed whenever necessary, a further object being to provide a binder of the class specified which is more particularly designed for use in connection with what are generally known as perpetual ledgers, but which may be used whenever such binders are required.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the Views, and in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of my improved binder on the line l l of Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a similar view with a lock-casing which I employ removed; Fig. 3, a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 a section on the line 4 4 of Fig. l. V

In the practice of my invention I employ two parallel bars a and 5, with which in practice ordinary box-binding or backs or covers may be connected in the usual manner. The bar is provided with a plurality of tubes b2, preferably two in number, and a central tube b3, said tubes being rigidly secured to said bar. The bar c is provided with tubes or members a2, which correspond with the tubes b2 and are adapted to be telescoped thereinto and with a central tube a3, into which the tube 3 is adapted to be telescoped. The tube b3 of the bar Z) is closed at its upper end bya plate bi, having an angular opening 65, through which is passed a spiral shaft c, the lower end of which is provided with a disk or disks c2, which are screw-threaded thereonto and which are provided in their opposite edges with notches or recesses c3, and by means of an ordinary spanner said disk or disks may be detached or placed in position whenever desired. The disk or disks c2 serve to center the lower end of the spiral shaft c and are free to move in the tube b3, and in practice I prefer to employ two of said disks, one of which serves as a lock; but a single nut may be employed in this position, if desired.

Secured to the upper end portion of the spiral shaft c is a disk c4, which is free to turn in the tube c3, and said shaft passes upwardly through the bar a and is provided above said bar with a ratchet-wheel d, rigidly secured thereto, and adjacent to said ratchet-wheel is a dog e, which is pivoted to the bar a at e2 and is provided with anose e3, -which operates in connection with the ratchet-wheel d and with a curved finger ci on the side opposite the ratchet-wheel d and the end of which projects transversely in the direction of the pivotal pointezof said dog, and secured at e5 is a spring e, which forces the dog or the nose thereof into engagement with the teeth of the ratchetwheel el. A lock-casing f is also secured to the bar a, preferably by means of an intervening transverse plate f2, and the lock-casing f incloses the dog c, the spring e, and the ratchet-wheel (Z, or a part thereof, and is provided with a keyhole f3, and by inserting a suitable key into the keyhole f3 the dog c may be moved against the operation of the spring e6 so as`to disengage the ratchet-Wheel 0l. Any

suitable key may be provided for this purpose; but I prefer to provide a key which will operate in connection with the linger c* of the dog e.

As long as the dog e is in connection with the wheel CZ, as shown in Fig. 3, the bars a and b will be securely locked together and cannot be moved so as to enlarge the space bea and L may be separated to any desired extent and may be adjusted to any desired position, and the moment the dog is released the lock will operate and said bars will be locked against separation, but can be pressed nearer together, if desired. It will be understood that when the bars a and are separated or brought near together the shaft c is rapidly turned, and this can only be accomplished by releasing the dog c from its engagement with the wheel (Z, and the turning of said shaft is accomplished by the passage thereof longitudinally through the opening /in the plate The operation of this class of binders in connection with ledgers and other large books and also in connection with portfolios and also as a means for temporary binding separate sheets of various kinds and classes is well understood, and by means of my improved construction the leaves of a ledger may be temporarily bound together lirmly and securely; but by releasing the bars (L and b or separating the same the leaves of the ledger may be removed or detached and new leaves may be substituted wheneverdesired. It will also be understood that in connecting the leaves or sheets to be bound with this binder the edge thereof is provided with openings or holes through which the tubes 2 and a3 are free to pass, and these holes or openings may be formed in the usual or any desired manner.

The disk or disks c2 in addition to serving as a guide for and centering the spiral shaft c also prevent said shaft from being drawn out of the tube and in this way prevents the bars t and L from being entirely separated, while the disk c1 and ratchet-wheel Z facilitate the adjustment of the bars a and With reference to each other, all that is necessary being to take hold of said bars and pull them apart or force them together when the dog e is out of engagement with the ratchet- Wheel CZ.

My improved binder is simple in construction and operation and particularly adapted to accomplish the result for which it is intended, and changes in and modilications of the construction herein described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is-

l. A binder composed of parallel bars each of which is provided with a tube one of which is adapted to be telescoped within the other, the end of the inner tube adjacent to the bar with which the outer tube is connected being closed and provided with an angular opening; a spiral shaft passed through said opening, and through the bar with which the outer tube is connected and provided with a stationary disk adjacent to the inner side of the bar with which the outer tube is connected, said shaft being also provided at its inner end with a disk or nut adapted to turn in the inner tube and on the end thereof adjacent to the outer surface of the bar through which it passes with a rigid ratchet-wheel; a springoperated dog secured to said last-named bar and adapted to operate in connection with said ratchet-wheel; and a casing inclosing the dog and spring and provided with a keyhole, said bars being also provided laterally of the firstnamed tube with other telescopic members, substantially as shown and described.

2. A binder composed of two parallel bars a and b each of which is provided with atube one of which is adapted to be telescoped Within the other, the inner end of the inner tube which is connected with the bar being closed and provided with an angular opening. a spiral shaft passed through said opening and through the bar a and provided on the inner side of the bar a with a rigid disk and on the outer side of said bar with a rigid ratchet-wheel, and a spring-operated dog pivotally supported adjacent to said ratchetwheel and adapted to operate in connection therewith, said spiral shaft being also provided at its inner end with a nut or disk1 and said bars being also provided laterally of said tube with other telescopic members, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of the subscribing witnesses, this 24th day of December, 1903.

AUSTIN H. DENNY.

IVitnesses:

F. A. STEWART, C. E. MULREANY. 

